Five Ways To Bring The Fun Back Into Your Homeschool

Sometimes we get so caught up in the check lists, requirements, and outside pressures of homeschooling that we forget that this can really be a great adventure and lots of fun if we approach it that way.

If you are finding yourself in a rut in your homeschool here are some ideas to shake things up and bring back the excitement.

1. Take a break. Simple? Yes, but also effective. Take a day off and just rest. Or take a fun field trip. Something out of the ordinary or something your kids have been wanting to do. If the rut is really deep take more than a day off. Again, you can either all just rest or go do something exciting and fun. If time and finances allow, go on a trip, camp somewhere, go visit museums, zoos, and parks that you don’t normally visit (or anything else that would be fun and interesting for everyone).

2. Change the environment. If you don’t feel like taking a break is feasible or helpful just change the location of school. You could do school at a beach, in the woods, at a park, or anywhere that strikes your fancy. Take advantage of the flexibility of homeschooling and temporarily move your school to a new location. If you are feeling really adventurous try a different location every day for a week, or one day a week for a month. Maybe you could go camping or stay in a cabin somewhere for a few days and do school there. Changing the environment can really help with attitudes and interest levels. Just plan in a little extra time for your kids to also enjoy whatever the new location has to offer.

3. Change your schedule or routine. You could shorten your school week or change the time you work on school work. We like to have normal school days three days a week, one day is spent at our coop, and one day is for special activities such as play dates, baking days, field trips, and scout projects. You could designate one day a week or one day a month as field trip day. You could have a regular library day and let the kids check out any books or audio books they want. You could have a TV day where they can choose from a selection of educational shows and documentaries to watch.

4. Change your curriculum. This is very similar to #3 but this time focus on the curriculum. Is there something your kids (or even you) dread working on? Maybe it needs to go. Evaluate everything you are currently doing and decide if it is really adding value to your children’s education and if there is really long-term benefit. If it really isn’t that beneficial and they don’t love it perhaps it doesn’t really need to be part of your school. Is there something they would really like to learn that isn’t currently included? It could even be an extracurricular like music, sewing, art, baking or anything they are interested in (these all have cross-curricular educational value). Find a way to add something new that your child chooses.

5. RELAX! Yes, you can relax. You can do less. You can school less days. You can take more breaks. You can have more “fun school” days (field trips, extracurriculars, educational TV days, etc). Get things into perspective, think about what your kids REALLY need to learn, what does your state require, what will REALLY benefit them as adults, and what are your goals. Are the things you are focusing on truly important and are they moving your children toward these goals? If not, it can go – at least for a time.

Don’t think of these suggestions as a checklist, they are more of a jumping off point. Education can and should be fun for you AND your kids. If it isn’t, think and pray about the tips above and figure out what you can do to make school a fun and exciting adventure for all of you.

Sabrina Scheerer is a homeschooling mother of five high-spirited children and an Army wife. Prior to motherhood, she worked in childcare and early education including roles as a daycare inspector, daycare center and home daycare director, preschool teacher, and trainer for childcare providers and directors. She has been involved with early childhood education for over 15 years. Sabrina earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Maryland and has graduate hours in human development plus countless hours of continuing education in early childhood and education. Sabrina has served as a Classical Conversations Director and tutor for her local communities and has taught classes for a local homeschool coop. She has extensive, personal experience using many different homeschool curricula. She is also actively involved in her church and community, volunteering with Operation Christmas Child, International Student Ministries, and AWANA as well as working as a local coordinator for an international exchange student program. In her free time, she enjoys crafts, reading, and raising critters on her small homestead. Sabrina blogs on parenting, faith, marriage, homeschooling, homesteading, and natural living at www.kidscrunchandchrist.com where her hope is to inspire and encourage mothers to live joyfully.